State Department lifts arms embargo on Syria, opening case-by-case defense exports

The Department of State has removed Syria from the list of countries subject to a policy of denial for licenses and other approvals, effective October 1, 2026. The change is made by a final rule amending the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) at 22 CFR Part 126, published in the Federal Register under Public Notice 13131 and RIN 1400–AG38. From that date, requests for licenses or other approvals for defense articles and defense services destined for Syria will be adjudicated by the Department on a case-by-case basis.

On August 19, 2026, the Secretary of State approved a new defense trade policy for Syria permitting review of defense article and defense service transfers on a case-by-case licensing basis, and directed the Department to codify the change by amending the ITAR. The rule removes the reference to Syria in § 126.1, “Prohibited exports, imports and sales to or from certain countries,” and specifically removes Syria from the countries subject to a comprehensive policy of denial under paragraph (d)(1).

Statutory prerequisites now satisfied

The Department states that the statutory conditions for amending Syria’s status under § 126.1 are now met. It lists them as follows:

• Rescission of the terrorism-support determination underlying sections 40 and 40A of the Arms Export Control Act.
• Waiver or removal of the separate restrictions imposed under the Syria Accountability and Lebanese Sovereignty Restoration Act.
• Waiver or removal of restrictions under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act.
• Waiver or removal of restrictions under the Child Soldiers Prevention Act.

A sequence of decisions

The rule caps a series of steps taken over 2026 by the Department of State, the White House and the Department of the Treasury:

• December 29, 1979: Syria was designated a State Sponsor of Terrorism.
• July 8, 2026: a Presidential Report on Syria accompanied the later determinations.
• August 20, 2026: the Under Secretary for Arms Control and Nonproliferation determined it was essential to US national security to waive the two remaining sanctions on arms sales and arms sales financing, effective September 16, 2026 (Public Notice 13125).
• August 24, 2026: the rescission of the State Sponsor of Terrorism determination took effect (Public Notice 13114, 91 FR 55965, August 31, 2026).
• September 25, 2026: the Office of Foreign Assets Control amended the Terrorism List Governments Sanctions Regulations, 31 CFR Part 596, removing and reserving the Syria-specific general license in § 596.505.
• October 1, 2026: the ITAR amendment takes effect.

Procedure and regulatory findings

The rulemaking is exempt from the notice-and-comment requirements of the Administrative Procedure Act under 5 U.S.C. 553(a)(1), as a military or foreign affairs function of the United States, so the Department published it without requesting public comment. It is designated a “significant regulatory action” under Executive Order 12866, but the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs found it is not a major rule under the Congressional Review Act. The Department states that costs will be minimal because the rule removes regulatory requirements and obligations, that it involves no mandate of $100 million or more, and that it has no sufficient federalism implications. The contact for the change is Ryan Haddad, Foreign Affairs Officer, Office of Defense Trade Controls Policy.

The revision ends a denial policy that had barred licensed defense exports to Damascus and reopens a channel for US defense trade with Syria on a discretionary, case-by-case footing. Each proposed transfer will still face individual review, so the practical effect depends on how the Department exercises that discretion rather than on an automatic opening of the market.

Source: Federal Register, Vol. 91, No. 189, October 1, 2026, Rules and Regulations, p. 62313 (official reference: 2026–20117).